


Never, Neverland

by Astoria Gracewell (arh581958)



Series: #MalecWeek [9]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 1800s, Alternate Universe - Regency, Day 2 - Disney!AU, M/M, Malec, Malec Week, Malec Week 2017, Regency, Regency Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-06-12
Packaged: 2018-11-13 05:46:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11178312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arh581958/pseuds/Astoria%20Gracewell
Summary: Not all fairietales began with "Once upon a time..."  Sometimes, it began in a small industrialized town in New York City where a small merchant family lived.(Or: Alec Lightwood plays Wendy Darling, in a Malec retelling of the classicPeter Pan)





	Never, Neverland

**Author's Note:**

> Written for **MalecWeek2017 Day 2** \- _Disney!AU_
> 
> Please read the story with a grain of salt. It's an _interpretation_ of the classic. I've also changed my writing style quite a bit to give a whimsical vibe. It's best read with the narrator of your choice in your head. Mine is Mrs. Potts or Morgan Freeman~

_Not all fairietales began with "Once upon a time..."  Sometimes, it began in a small industrialized town in New York City where a small merchant family lived._

***

Mr. Lightwood inherited his father’s mining company while Mrs. Lightwood had been the heiress of a shipping line, and together they built the giant known today as Lightwood Enterprises. They frequently went away for business; and thus, leaving their two younger children with their eldest son, Alexander.

Alexander—whom preferred to be called ‘Alec’, much to his parents’ dismay—used to ask his parents about their many travels. There weren’t  too many forms of entertainment during the 1820s, and so he could recounted their parents tales to his two younger siblings: Isabelle and Maxwell.

The Lightwoods lived in a tower-like home on Manhattan Island. On the outside, it strongly resembled church but inside was undeniably a home. They all loved to stay in the upstairs nursery, located atop the highest tower where they would watch their parents’ ship sail across into the horizon. Incidentally too, their pet-maid named Church also loved the deep window sill.

“Alec,” Maxwell, their youngest, at seven years old, tugged on his elder brother’s pale blue cotton sleeves. “Tell us a bedtime story, please.”

Alec, who was seated in the ledge beside Church, turned away from the large arched window. In the wall, at the end of the room, the fire place crackled quietly. His brilliant blue eyes glinted in the soft orange flames and a genial smile covered his features. “Very well, Max, how about the time mum and dad went to Asia? Do you remember that? They brought home so many different spices.”

Max nodded his head. “And chocolate!”

“Oh, no, Max,” Alec chuckled, “that was the time in South America. Ecuador, I think but I’m not sure.”

“Well, I don’t want a old story!” Isabelle, who just turned the tenacious ten, interjected. She crossed her arms over her pale cream bodice stubbornly. “We’ve heard _all_ mum and dad’s stories. I want a new one.”

Alec tried his best to let her down gently. “But, Izzy, mum and dad haven’t come back yet. There isn’t anything new I can tell you—not yet, but maybe when they came back, you can ask them how it was.”

“But, I want a bedtime story,” Max insisted, holding his small grey elephant to his chest. “Please, Alec, I want a story.”

“Oh, Max,” Alec sighed, “But Izzy doesn’t want one.”

“No!” Izzy shook her head. “I want a new one. Can’t you make one up for us, Alec? Like make believe?”

“Make believe!” Max echoed, raising up to his feet. “Make believe! Make believe!” His enthusiasm fueled Isabelle’s demands.

Isabelle too rose from the settee. “With princess, and princes, and magic! Don’t forget the unicorns. A good story has unicorn, Alec. You shouldn’t forget them.”

At his siblings exchange, Alec could only grin fondly. Make-believe stories were his deepest, darkest secret. His parents would never approve but his imagination ran wild when he thought about vast possibilities beyond New York. He always made Isabelle and Max swear never to tell Mr. and Mrs. Lightwood about them, especially his favorite trickster, Magnus Bane.

The story of Magnus Bane, the boy forever frozen in adolescence, came to Alec in a dream. Alec had dreamt of amber-green eyes with slits just like a cat’s in the shape of almonds, caramel colored skin, and spiky black hair with tips that changed color from time to time. Magnus had a loyal companion in the form of a small orange kitten named The Chairman. Alec believed that The Chairman and Church would get along splendidly.

“Alright,” he said, stomach a flutter in anticipation. Whenever he told his siblings about Magnus, he would feel like the enchanted boy was more than a stone throw away. “Come here,” he beckoned, back leaning against the wall. Isabelle and Maxwell crossed their legs on the round rug. “Alright then. How about the time that Magnus helped a little mundane girl hide from the bad man trying to find her? Do you remember what a _mundane_ is?”

Isabelle giggled. “Oh! She’s just like us. Without magic,” she said brightly.

“Good job, Izzy,” Alec smiled, “you remembered. So this mundane little girl was named Clarissa and she had the most beautiful voice in the world like an angel. That’s why the man wanted to get her—”

“Strange.” A deeper voice interrupted from the shadows. “I don’t remember it quite like that. I think it was quite the opposite, really  Clary—oh,  that’s what she liked to be called—had the voice like a banshee! Have you ever heard a banshee sing? No? Good! It’s terrible! Consider yourselves lucky!” He spoke oh-so fast like a steam car.

Alec leaped from where he sat, putting himself between the shadows at the origin of the voice. “Who’s there?! I demand you show yourself. What are you doing in our home? Explain or I shall… I shall…” he pulled the cast iron rod from the fireplace in a huff, “I shall stab you with this poker.”

The voice chuckled. “Oh, silly, . You and I both know that won’t on little old me.” It was deep but youthful like a thousand year-old jar of sealed honey. “Don’t be so scared. We’re not _complete_ strangers. You know my name and I know yours, Alec.” Like a cat, a pair of luminescent amber-green greens appeared from the darkness.

“It’s Mangus!” Max cried, leaping to his feet and rushing forward.

Alec caught him by the hip just in time. “Max, no! Magnus isn’t real. I made him all up from the boy in my dreams. That guy, that intruder, is an imposter. Don’t go near him. We should call Hodge. He would know what to do.” Hodge was their male nanny, who was sleeping only a few flights below.

“Hodge?” Magnus snorted. “That miserable old colt? You should know better than to listen to his nonsense. I bet my favorite waistcoat that he’s told you that the Shadow Realm doesn’t exist. That’s preposterous. Not to mention, utter blasphemy!”

“Why would we believe a talking shadow?” Brave little Isabelle challenged from behind her elder brother. “Show yourself or I shall scream and wake up even the neighbors.”

“Ahh, yes, ever as fierce as your brother, I see. I expected nothing less from a Lightwood descendant.” A figure materialized from the darkness—tall, wearing a loose white shirt and an oddly purple-colored jumper which was folded at his ankles. His windswept hair had tiny flecks of shimmery gold at the tips.

The two younger Lightwood children gasped in surprise, but Alec remained skeptical.

Max jumped from his brother’s hold. “It _is_ Magnus! Alec, I told you so!” He rushed in with childish glee. “Mr. Magnus, show us a party trick, please.”

Magnus roared in laughter. “Why, certainly. Anything for you, young Lightwood. But’s no trick. I assure you,” he whispered an incantation and a small blue ball of flame appeared on his palm, “this my, my tiny little friend, is called magic. Go ahead. You can touch it. It won’t hurt. I promise.”

“Max, be careful!” Alex warned.

Max giggle as his finger touched the flame. “It’s warm but soft—like water!”

“I want some magic too!” Isabelle demanded. She strode up straight to Magnus. “Mr. Magnus, I want to see a unicorn.”

“Oh, Isabelle, dear, I’m afraid even real unicorns are too powerful for me.” Magnus knelt down to her height. Her lips downturned into a frown. “But,” he amended, wiggling his eyebrows, trying to make her smile. “How about I make a unicorn made of smoke?”

She eyed him closely. “Can it gallop?”

“For you, Izzy, it can do anything a unicorn can but fit in the palm of your hand,” Magnus explained. “How about it?”

“Okay.” She nodded. “It should be white not pink. I don’t like pink.”

“As you wish.” Magnus whispered another incantation then blew clear white smoke from his lips, onto his hands. A horse-like figure started to form. With his fingers, he molded the smoke with long hair and the signature spike. His amber-green eyes glowed briefly, then the unicorn came alive with a high-pitched neigh. “Just believe and it will follow.”

Isabelle reached for the unicorn. It galloped into her outstretched hand. “Thank you!”

“Just who are you?” Alec questioned, coming to stand between his distracted siblings and the person claiming to be Magnus Bane. He still refused to believe in such lies. Magnus was a fictional character in his dreams, not a real boy. There was no such thing as magic 

Magnus only smiled. He tipped his head, and then bent down low in a deep waist-height bow. When he came up, his hair had fallen all over his face. It should not make Alec’s stomach flutter so. “I am Magnus Bane—drop dead gorgeous warlock, philanthropist, and adventurer extraordinaire. Or, as you like to call me, the boy who’s time is frozen. You know me. I’ve shared nearly all my adventure with you, and I say _nearly_ because, of course, I still want to keep a little bit of mystery.”

“I don’t believe you,” said Alec, standing his ground. “Magic doesn’t exist.”

Magnus stoop up. “No, not here. Magic is in the Shadow World. This, right here, is the place where magic goes to die sad miserable death because people have stopped believing—the mundane world. It’s really a very boring place. Why do yiu stay here?”

“This is our home,” Alec argued. “Where else would be live? Besides, if you say magic doesn’t exist here then why are _you_ here and what are my siblings playing with?“

Magnus large cat-like eyes grew wide. “Well, those little things are powered by my magic. They exist as long as I am here. But, I can’t stay here for long. That’s why I’ve been sharing you my stories through your dreams. During sleep, the barrier between world isn’t as strong as the physical one. It’s also less tedious to do that then travel all the way here.”

“Then,” Alec rubbed his temples, “ _why_ are _you_ here?”

Another thing about Magnus that resembled a cat was his smile. It was wide, full of teeth, and very Cheshire. “Well, that’s easy. I came for you, my dearest Alexander. I’ve come to fetch you, and take you to my Neverland. You’ll love it! We’ve got bigger trees, clearer lakes, and an endless number of stars at night. It’s the best place in the world. I can’t wait to show you! I’ve been waiting for so long to take you."

***

_Unlike most faerietales, this particular one started when a boy met another boy who would change his life forever._

**Author's Note:**

> Well, did it work? Or should I just go back to my old style or writing? 
> 
> If you have a prompt or an idea, you can [INSPIRE ME](http://arh581958.tumblr.com/submit) on tumblr. Or [TALK TO ME](http://arh581958.tumblr.com/ask)~
> 
> As always, **kudos/comments/bookmarks** are all appreciated by this author. I take comments as extra-kudos and I _do_ read the bookmark tags (some are really fun).


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